Along with his fellow perfomer Jogchem Jalink, Lens auditioned for the role in October 2007 and was trained by Kevin Clash and Bert Plagman. His non-Henson puppetry credits include Koekeloere and Leesdas Lettervos Boekentas; he also did understudy work for Zazu, Timon and Ed during the Dutch run of The Lion King and was seen on Broadway in the musical Frog.